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Article Excerpt
Through my travels, I encounter many nature-themed camps. They have names such as "Young Explorers," "Nature Nuts," and "Outdoor Adventurers." Sadly, I discover that nine times out of ten, these camps have no naturalist or professional outdoor educator on staff. No camp director would theme a camp around sailing without a trained sailing instructor, so why should nature camps be any different?
As a former program director myself, I realize what program directors face every day. It can seem like a hundred urgent matters occur each day, often at the same time. If you do not spend your week putting out one small brush fire after another, please give me a call; I want to know your secret. Unfortunately, environmental education at camp is often something that is easy to put on the back burner on your "things to do list" that you create each morning. Environmental education never seems to get the attention it deserves when you are dealing with a plumbing problem, preparing for the staff meeting, and trying to balance the budget.
You can give your environmental education program a face-lift. The first thing to do is to make a commitment to creating a properly staffed program by hiring a camp naturalist or outdoor educator. Develop a written job description, and advertise the position using "camp naturalist" or "outdoor educator" as the job title. If you advertise for a horseback riding instructor, you do not get lifeguards applying; the same rule applies here. Why should a naturalist apply to a camp that is only looking for camp counselors?
Finding Your Naturalist
Let's start with what not to look for in a camp naturalist or interpreter.
1. You are not necessarily looking for an ornithologist. Just because he or she knows the mating call of the chestnut-sided warbler by heart does not mean he or she...
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